The man in charge of a company that sells biodiesel and E85 ethanol to the public has told Congress that it needs to keep funding programs to help offset the costs of infrastructure that make the green fuels available to the public.
This post from Biodiesel Magazine says Matt Horton, CEO of Propel Fuels, told the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources how important it is for consumers to have access to renewable fuels and how S. 187, the Biofuels Expansion Act of 2011 would help that:
“With the primary location of the existing E85 and biodiesel fueling sites in the upper Midwest, much of the balance of the nation remains without such fueling facilities while Chrysler, General Motors, and Ford continue to produce almost 50 percent of their entire production as Flexible Fuel Vehicles,” Horton said.
Horton also explained Propel’s belief that the federal government must participate in establishing the alternative fuel infrastructure of the future.
“According to the DOE Alternative Fuel Data Center, there are approximately 2,350 public E85 fueling stations across the entire nation. This small number of sites serves an E85 vehicle population exceeding 9 million vehicles,” said Horton. “While it is not the government’s role to choose the fuel of the future, government can and should assist the private sector with offsetting the costs of such new infrastructure. We believe that the establishment of an infrastructure income tax credit represents the most appropriate role of government in this effort.”
Horton recommended a 50 percent tax credit (up to $100,000 per site) for putting in infrastructure with the ability to transfer that credit to third parties to help pay for the equipment, among other recommendations.